1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to remote control systems and more particularly to means for controlling motion of an object from a remote device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art there are many remote control systems. The following are systems representative of the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,421 shows an optically linked remote control apparatus for a video game.
Although the patent does show the use of modulated infrared light energy to control position of a light element on a display device in a video game, the patent neither shows or suggests the control of a cursor by a wireless velocity sensing system having ultrasonic and infrared signal generation and reception means to provide control in the X and Y planes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,255 shows a means for roughly determining the coordinates of a point on a display viewed by an operator. The optical device located in front of the LED which tapers the energy pattern limits resolution of the system. Further, the system shown by the patent is position sensitive and not velocity sensitive as is the system according to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,541,521 teaches control of the movement of a cursor on a screen by a wired to cursor control means wherein manual action of said control means results in the moving of said cursor by some varying multiple amount which is dependent upon the rate of the control means output.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,180 which is a "joy stick" cursor control system for video games. The control system of the patent relies on a hard wired connection between the joy stick control and the display device and is not velocity sensitive as is the device according to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,395 teaches a video game having a plurality of hard wired projectile control devices for a number of players where each control device controls the position of the projectile. The patent, of course, does not teach a velocity sensing control system according to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,789 shows an animated video image display system having an image position control hard wired to the system for generating X and Y coordinates of the image position. The patent neither teaches or suggests a velocity sensing cursor control system which is wireless according to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,014 teaches a joy stick control of a display cursor which is hard wired to the display system for controlling direction and velocity of movement of a display cursor. The patent does not teach a wireless cursor control system in accordance with the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,914 teaches an input device for video display system which enables an operator to control movement of a display element by moving the input device sensor over a surface having microscopically pictured roughness such as a sheet of paper. The sensor includes first and second stylii in contact with the surface of the paper to detect motion along X and Y axes. The device is connected to the system by a cable. The patent does not teach the wireless velocity sensing cursor control device in accordance with the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,963 teaches a positional transducer element which controls X and Y coordinate positions of a cursor on a display system. The cursor control device of the patent is physically connected to the display system through a cable and is not a wireless velocity sensing cursor control device as is the present invention.
A book entitled "Principles of Interactive Computer Graphics" second edition, by William M. Newman and Robert F. Sproull published by McGraw Hill Book Company, 1979, discusses at pages 154 and 155, three dimensional input devices such as acoustic devices employing orthogonally related strip microphones mounted around edges of a two-dimensional tablet for calculating position in three-dimensions.
Although the referenced book discusses the use of acoustics to measure position, it does not teach a velocity sensing wireless cursor control device in accordance with the present invention.
An article entitled "Designing and Testing the Optical Mouse" appeared in the January/February 1982 issue of VLSI design at page 20 and following. The article relates to an optical mouse as a cursor control device which is wired to a display system and requires a special patterned pad on which the mouse must operate.
Although the article generally shows an improved optical mouse, the article does not teach a wireless cursor control device in accordance with the present invention.
The prior art discussed above does not teach nor suggest the patent invention as disclosed and claimed herein.